KP – One Oh One: Part XLVIII – Epilogue
Winter eased away from Middleton as the days grew gradually warmer. Just about the time the weathermen commented on the unusually light snowfall that year, Mother Nature decided to make up for it with spring rain. The gray, damp, dreary weather was enough to get even the brightest spirits down after a while. One odd effect, however, was the increase in traffic at the local coffee houses. Even those who didn't particularly like that Seattle style brew found themselves among the coffee klatch, sipping hot cocoa and hoping nobody noticed their drink was made from the coca plant and not Arabica beans.
That very same coffee eschewing young man was in for a horrible surprise. Spring Break was something he always looked forward to. In high school it simply meant a week away from school, and the principals almost always favored the students during that time, forbidding any or the teachers from assigning anything over the break. That was a standing tradition at Middleton High School that even ultra-disciplinarians like Wilma Director wouldn't break with. Or course, back then Ron didn't have much money, and since they were minors throughout their high school careers, the only chance they had to get away was for the odd mission.
This year he was ready. There was money saved up in the bank. He was a legal adult and he even had driving privileges with Kim's car (which she was making a good faith effort in calling 'their' car.) Unfortunately, there was no such tradition protecting the students of Middleton College from 'evil' professors. In the week leading up to the holiday, Kim took Ron aside and pointed out that if they did indeed go away for the week, it would put him seriously behind. Reluctantly, he agreed. They originally planned to spend the last weekend of the break up at Mount Middleton, but the rainy weather pretty much put an end to the slopes and it was too nasty for mountain biking, so the lodge shut down for a while to do maintenance.
Ron leaned on one fist, half-heartedly stirring his cocoa. "You know, I really wanted to hit the beach this year. I just seems so unfair that we're spending our first college spring break at home."
"Welcome to the real world of adults." Kim took another swig of the third extra-large (or whatever these places called their sizes) plain black Columbian roast. "What's the deal, anyway? If you wanted to see hot girls in bathing suits Mom and I could dig out the bikinis we wore last summer."
Ron looked up at her without moving his head. "Uh, KP, that's half badical, half sick and wrong." He sat up quickly as anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm not saying you Mom doesn't look badical in a 'kini, it's just I don't want to think of her that way. Like ever."
The scowl didn't quickly fade from Kim's face. "So, you want to go to the beach to ogle girls you don't know?" She arched her back slightly to enhance her chest. "What's the matter? Not enough variety here for you?"
He shook his head. "I'm just going to shut up now, before I lose the right to even see those on occasion."
"Too late." She muttered, taking a sip to hide the smile that was springing to life. She could no more cut Ron off than stop breathing. Cutting him off meant cutting herself off, though she did like teasing him when he displayed interest in other women. Finally taking pity on him, she reached across the small table and hooked her pinky with his. "Hey, since we're not getting away tonight, want to crash at your place? I've been feeling really tense, and I could use one of your patented backrubs."
Putting his cup down, Ron stood behind her and started working on her shoulders. She tilted her head back until her eyes were even with his. She mouthed the words "I love you" and he responded by leaning over and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Ew, you taste like coffee." He made as if to wipe off his mouth. "You know, drinking that much, you're going to be paying for it later."
"The it's a good thing you have an attached bathroom."
"I meant all that caffeine. You're going to be buzzing for the next twenty four hours."
"Well, I sure don't want to sleep though your spankin back rubs. Mmmm, that does feel nice."
He sat back down, taking another swig of his drink, casting a look outside. "I wish it would either honestly rain or clear up. This misty-moisty crap is starting to get to me."
"We could always go back to the campus and hole up in one of the study halls. The one in the science building is nice and comfortable and it doesn't have all that many windows."
"Nah. It's bad enough the amount of work I had to do this week. I don't want to set foot there again until Monday."
Kim finished off her coffee and considered getting yet another one. "Don't forget we've got finals coming up in just over a month."
"You don't have to remind me. I haven't worked this hard since the last weeks of our junior year, when I almost didn't get promoted, and I still think I'm going to pull down just a gentleman's C in a couple courses."
"Just do your best, Honey." She frowned a little herself. She was making more Bs that term than she ever had before. Being a hot-shot straight A student in grade school still didn't prepare her for the level of work expected from them in college, and Freshman year was really only a transition. It was going to get tougher as they advanced too.
She wondered if they would be able to keep accepting missions. After many quiet months, things had gone back to the old ways, with the odd quickie jobs popping up here and there, as well as the more adventurous 'save the world' type missions. Most of their professors were willing to make adjustments so they could keep up, but there was only so much class time they could miss before putting a serious dent in their academic careers. They really wouldn't be much use to the world as college drop-outs.
The tension between them and the head of Global Justice had abated somewhat. Doctor Director called the two of them into a meeting a couple days after Amethyst was born with a deal. For the sake of the child, GJ was willing to look the other way, so long as the 'caretakers' of the newborn behaved. Drew Lipsky was not to go any kind of research or development on any kind of weapon, while Sherry Godfrey was not to use her powers. They could go back to their cabin and live in peace, so long as those conditions were met. Betty made it quite clear she wasn't personally happy with the arrangement, but if that got two of the more dangerous players off the field, then she would count that as a victory.
Kim wasn't all that convinced either. Sherry could be depended on because of her daughter, but Kim certainly didn't trust Lipsky. There was only so long the two of them could exist under what was really a sort of 'house arrest' and there was the added stress of being the ones responsible for the two. It also concerned her that, in their home, they still called each other Shego and Doctor Drakken, though she held out a hope that had taken on the aspect of pet names.
With the law off their backs, Sherry was finally convinced by Kim's mother to go in for a real physical. Both her and her child turned out to be in perfect health, but the peace of mind they got from the trip was certainly worth it. The new mother ended up spending almost a week in her house while Drew went back to their cabin and put it back in order. Interestingly enough, he transformed one of the rooms into a nursery that was a riot of violet and purple.
The freakiest thing that came out of the whole ordeal was that Sherry asked the two of them to be god-parents to Amethyst. It was strange thinking that, if something unfortunate were to happen, that she would end up caring for the daughter of Shego, but stranger things had been known to happen.
Kim started to head back to the counter, but Ron was up, cutting her off. "That's enough for you, KP."
"Yes, dear." She said in a slightly mocking voice. "Come on, Ron, one more cup."
"Nope, I know you all too well. Even now, I bet you're going to get up twice while I'm working on your back to go to the bathroom."
"Okay, point taken." She sat back down and nibbled on her biscotti. "So, what do you want to do this summer?"
"I don't know, what do you want to do?"
"Whatever you want to." She replied.
He rolled his eyes. "Are all Possible females like you, or just the ones who like me?"
"Just playing you, honey. I was thinking, just as quick as we're done with finals, we load up the car and hit the road again."
If his eyes could roll back in his head any further, he would have a good view of his own frontal lobe. "You really want to sit in a car for hours on end again?"
She gripped his hand. "I'll be with you, won't I?"
"Yeah, but I was hoping we could call in a favor somewhere and fly. That way we could spend more of our time together, you know, together, instead of one of us trying to drive and wondering if we're even going to find a nice place to sleep. I kinda got that wandering around like we're an ordinary average girl and boy last year."
"Well, I was thinking this year we could head west, spend a couple days getting to the coast, then the rest of our time we could spend sitting on a beach."
"Ehhhhh."
"Please, Wonnie?"
He knew better than to look, but he couldn't help himself. It was part of her power. The lower lip jutted out and her eyes seemingly doubled in size. She lowered her head between her shoulders and looked up at him.
She had to be careful. It was indeed her most potent weapon, but if it were used to often it would lose its potency. Fortunately, it was operating at full power and Ron was putty in her hands. So far he had only been able to resist the Puppy-Dog-Pout on a couple occasions, and that was only when he was already doing something special for her.
"Okay, you win, but if we're going to be on a beach, we're both going to bathe in sunscreen. I'm not gonna spend our whole vacation nursing a sunburn like we did down in Florida that year."
"Booyah. Now, since you're such a good boy, what should we do with the rest of our afternoon?"
He grinned across the table at her. "You know what we haven't done in a long, long time?"
She leaned on her fists, smiling softly at him. "Oh, what's that?"
"Logging Camp Road."
Kim sat up and raised an eyebrow at him. The road itself really went nowhere important, ending at a bluff that overlooked the city. Many decades after the last tree had been harvested from there, teenagers had congregated in a field where the pavement ended, participating in that time-honored activity know throughout the years as 'parking.' At one time, virtually all of their dates ended there, considering it was actually a safe spot for making out. Sure, there were plenty of couples who did much more than that there, adding to the dubious reputation of the spot, but it was part of their history and something they actually treasured.
"You do know it's a few hours until it gets dark, don't you?"
"Yeah, but in this weather I'm not even sure it matters, and I want to get a good spot. You know, the one with that stand of boulders. The place where I first told you I loved you?"
She leaned over further, meeting his lips over the middle of the table. "Okay, but dinner first."
"Do I even need to ask?"
"Actually, yeah. I'm tired of steak for the moment…"
Ron looked around. "Somebody alert the press, Kim Possible is tired of steak?"
"Yeah. Simmer down there, Naco boy. I just have a hankering for some seafood."
He wiped his hand across his forehead. "Whew. Though for the moment you were going to say fried chicken."
"What's that got to do with anything? Besides, you know how picky I am about that."
"Yeah, I just have this impression that's what you'll crave, you know, when you're…"
"Ron! You know as well as I do there's absolutely no way I could be…"
"Playin' you, KP. Seafood it is."
They got up, Ron automatically leaving a five on the table. There wasn't much service in that particular coffee shop, but he always insisted on leaving a tip, knowing all too well how little the servers made in the restaurant industry.
Out at the car, Kim made a point of getting in the passenger's side. It may have legally been her car, but she knew how much he liked to drive, and he sure needed the practice. Once they got in and shut the doors, she reached for him and gave him a good taste of things to come that night.
"Booyah." He said quietly as their lips parted.
"You think, maybe tonight, after we get back to your place?" She looked him right in the eye, knowing he knew exactly what she meant.
"Uh, you know what happens every time…"
He didn't even get to finish his own question.
Beep-Beep-De-Beep!
Never The End
Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney